Getting the Best from Your Estimate Request

You require an estimate? What could be simpler? You contact a company that is of interest to your current task or project and ask them for it. After all, it’s the service provider who should be fully responsible for the accuracy of estimates, right?

What really happens?

Most software development service vendors wish to provide customers with solutions of the richest quality. Making you happy with our work is something all of us want. After all, satisfying your requirements is our job.

That noted, no single provider of services and solutions can do everything in the so called “standalone mode.” Primarily we, providers, must know what you want in order to deliver fitting architecture, functionality, design, and UX.

You see, it’s not easy to create fitting solutions in a world of too many deliverables. Just knowing you require a website is not enough. It’s how you wish to monetize it, how your visitors will use your solutions, and what you actually wish to display – those things really matter.

The value of data (the “how” is not enough, we need the “why”)

We love our job. We love creating software, we love testing it and are especially happy when solutions developed by our experts succeed in the market. These achievements are not simple. Our clients have their own goals, requirements, business objectives and budget limitations we exist to assist with. But (there is always a “but,” is there not?), we need to know all of these things straight from the start.

This is where the data we require to make a decent estimate comes along. Our team analyzes all aspects of future projects to their full extent. This happens because we wish to choose the simplest, most efficient and cost-effective path for development of your product. And you, as a business owner, are probably encouraged to do the same, aren’t you?

Here is a fine example. Consider it as food for your thought. Once upon a time, we received a request from a new customer. He wished to see an estimate of how much development of his website is worth and how long will it take. Our team of analysts received a message stating something like “Hey, I want a website on Drupal. It will have an integrated e-commerce module and is purposed to sell children’s books.” Not too informative, right?

After some time of communication and collaboration (by the way time is the only value that cannot be returned or refunded), we came to understand the following:

Our client required a website that can:

Give users the ability to construct custom books;

Attributes like name, last name, age and gender can be added to books;

All books can be listed in an online mode;

Printed versions can be ordered;

Additional referral and loyalty programs should be accessible and easily available;

The site should be able to generate PDFs of high resolution (printed versions are based on them).

Now that is something we can work with. Something we can estimate. And, as a result – we successfully delivered to our customer a powerful e-commerce solution based on Drupal. We were capable of predicting how much such a solution would cost based on actual data, available information and demanded requirements, rather than fiction and guesses.

Help us help you!

If you are looking forward to receiving an accurate estimate, please consider the following guidelines. Such behavior will ensure you are being delivered with exactly the answers your project requires.

Provide us with clear, detailed information about your project’s type so we can address it properly.

Provide us with qualitative and quantitative data that is related to the scope of work. In simple words – list all the tasks you wish our engineers to accomplish.

Highlight those fields that would require research, creativity, expertise or guidance from our side. You might not know the best approach to the realization of your vision. That’s OK. We are here for you and we know it.

Confirmation of requirements is not essential for creation of an estimate. However you may still do so, if necessary. It’s your call.

Visualization is a powerful tool that displays data. Use as much of it as possible, and expect the same from the business you are addressing.

Large volumes of data are unacceptable. It is impossible to properly estimate a project that might take years in development. Break it down. Display consumable chunks and demand the same from your vendor.

It would be astonishing if you could provide us with additional information, based on your requirements. For example, you may wish for an app that uses a black background and are precise that this is the approach your customers are expecting to see. Or you may have particular specifications regarding the deadline, etc. Whatever the case – please inform us. All those sorts of data are essential for us to create the ultimate path that will fit your needs and your product.

Here is a pro tip: It matters not how much data you have provided from the start. If your potential partner provided you with an estimate without asking any additional questions – they’ve probably done a terrible job. You are free to consider their analysis worthless.

What will you get from being precise with the provided data? In return – we promise you a splendid, mutually beneficial collaboration. Sounds like a hell of a deal, does it not?

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